Why is the route that I created on my GPS not following the road? Because you need to input (Via) Points into the Garmin, or waypoints for TomTom users

For this example, we will travel over 700 miles from Guadalajara Mexico to McAllen Texas for a shopping vacation.

I used Garmin nuvi 1300 with new map of Mexico. Input city names along my route.

Select from Garmin menu Where to?>Cities> Enter the city names.

McAllen, TX Final Destination Reynosa, TAMPS Add as a Via Point Monterrey, NL Set as a Via Point San Luis Potosi, SLP Set as a Via Point Ojuelos de Jalisco, JAL Set as a Via Point Lagos de Moreno, JAL Set as a Via Point Tonala, JAL Set as a Via Point

I used TomTom One XL with new map of Mexico. Input city names along my route.

Next month topicWhy should I update Mexico map in my GPS? Because roads are constantly changing, on average 15% of roads change every year.

Can I update 2001 Garmin StreetPilot with new Mexico maps? Yes 2009 was the last year Garmin sold (NON-NT) maps for older GPS units, More on this topic next month. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OISJwAidSzo

Re: [telcoman] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Can I use Garmin CityExplorers maps in Mexico? Yes only in Mexico City.

As there is a bit of confusion about CityXplorers maps usage , I try to explain this matter more clearly-CityXplorer maps are special maps that contain CityNavigators map parts (important cities ones) + EPM features.

What is EPM? EPM means Ehanced Pedestrian Mode. Enhanced pedestrian navigation helps you navigate the city's public transit. Get directions for where to walk, where to catch the bus, subway, tram, or other transportation (where available). Also learn how long it will take to get there. In some cities, data is even available for transit schedules, such as subway or bus times and routes. So in CityXplorers you'll have pedestrian features and Public Transports. http://www.garmin.com/us/maps/cityxplorerhttps://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=276&pID=70067

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

What a great thread! Thanks to you all. I am eager to try linking Google or Mapquest maps to my Garmin Nuvi.

I have used Bicimapas for three years now, and while very useful, I fully realize it isn't up to the quality standards of the Garmin maps. I've not purchased the Garmin Mexico maps because of my concern about their coverage for smaller towns in Mexico. However I know they keep improving that.

Does anyone know where I might find more detail about their coverage of Mexico? The map they normally show is woefully inadequate. For example, I live in Morelia, Michoacán. Their coverage of Morelia would be very important in whether I would switch over.

Re: [jrpierce] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

We purchased the Garmin card back in 2009 and have been amazed by the details in many if not most of the small towns and villages. Since you live in Michoacan, here are a couple of examples: San Francisco Pichataro, Cocucho, Paracho, Patamban, Ocumicho, Capula, Cheran, Cuanajo, San Jose de Gracia and numerous others. In a couple of these towns/villages, we are talking dirt roads and they were on the GPS maps. On the other hand, where the cuota (Hwy 43 ?) heads north from Morelia across the lake towards Cuitzeo, it showed us driving across the lake with no highway.

What I don't get is that our version of the Mexico maps shows as being the 2010 version but when I hook the GPS to my laptop, it shows no updates available. Maybe because our maps are on a card, it cannot update? Regards, Neil Albuquerque, NM

Interesting. When you say they have coverage for these towns, do you mean city street maps of the towns, or routes to the towns? For example, did Garmin have complete street maps for Pátzcuaro, Morelia, Santa Clara de Cobre and Ajijic? I don't know why I didn't think to raise this with you when you were in Morelia.

Re: [jrpierce] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

As near as I could tell, the city/town/village street maps appeared to be complete. We were on some streets or burro paths that we had no business driving on with our minivan and the streets showed. Probably should have had warnings that streets were SUV only.

As far as Patzcuaro, Morelia, Santa Clara del Cobre and Ajijic go, I never found a missing street. I did notice that around Lake Chapala, the location indicator was often off by a block or a few hundred feet. No idea why. Regards, Neil Albuquerque, NM

Re: [jrpierce] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

We use the Garmin maps too. Our experience has been that they are only fair in some situations. For example, they do not differentiate between roads that split into upper and lower levels; they will tell us to go straight ahead when there is a choice of taking either the lower or the upper level, which end up in totally different places. They often tell us to 'turn' right or left when a street or road simply curves in one of those directions, and Garmin knows almost nothing about one-way streets.

I remember a night in Chalco, Edomex, when the damned thing kept trying to get us to 'turn left in 200 meters'--onto a one-way street going the wrong way. When we couldn't make that turn, it 'recalculated', taking us around the block at the next street and insisting AGAIN that we turn left onto the same one-way street that ran the other direction. Chalco is not a place where you want to stop and ask directions at 1AM.

Re: [esperanza] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Thanks for the input, Esperanza. I've found similar problems with Garmin maps in the US from time to time, and had almost exactly the same issue with the Bicimapas product in Mexico. One evening Linda and I got lost in a rough neighborhood in in Guadalajara, and the GPS kept sending us in circles. There were people on the streets keeping warm around fires in oil drums, and they were starting to realize we were lost when we finally figured out how to leave the area.

I know how much you travel in Mexico. Except for these "glitches" are you satisfied with the Garmin product? Thanks,

Re: [jrpierce] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Using a GPS in North America is never an absolute as proven by the horror stories when people followed blind faith in taking provided directions. Common sense and a bit of sense of direction comes in handy. Using maps in MX also requires a sense of humor like so many things.

One way streets are problematic anywhere especially when the direction is changed between mapping cycles. The comment about the unit telling you to turn rather than simply following the curve in the road is often caused by the fact that in MX, the street name may often change at the curve. The same can be true when entering and exiting a traffic circle.

One trick that I use in MX is that I always have "tracking" turned on and then when I arrive at a location that has been problematic, I save our final destination. This seems to work well when returning to that same site at a later date. For example: two years ago we had a heck of a time finding the Best Western in San Miguel de Allende when coming into the city from the south. That attempt, I was using their provided address. This past August, we came in from the same direction but I used the saved location and it worked much better. Regards, Neil Albuquerque, NM

allows you to get the latest maps up to 4 times per year for the life of your device

This map update only can be used to update the preloaded maps that came installed on your device. For example, a device preloaded with North America maps cannot be updated with nüMaps Lifetime Europe, and vice versa.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

I can understand how the map updates would work if you have the Mexico maps loaded to your internal memory. My question is: if you have the Mexico maps on a microSD card - does the update load to the card? Regards, Neil Albuquerque, NM

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Question: What is the largest SD (Secure Digital) card that my nüvi can accept?

Answer: As long as your nüvi has the most recent version of system software your nüvi will be SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) compatible. This means that there is no limitation to the size of SD card that your nüvi will accept.

To ensure that your unit has the most up to date system software please use our WebUpdater program

and......

Although any brand of SD or microSD card should work without any problems, Garmin recommends using SanDisk or Kingston brand cards. Most SD and microSD cards work with out any issues however Ultra, High Speed (such as 133x or faster), or SD and microSD cards specifically used for high end or professional electronics might not work.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

All the bells and whistles aside, what really matters on any GPS is the quality of the maps, and how well the GPS figures out the best way to get from point A to B.

The single most common complaint I hear, is "the GPS took me on a crazy route that I would never have chosen and was not the best/shortest way."

Arguably the most critical components of any turn-by-turn GPS navigation system are the routing engine and map accuracy. The routing engine is the software on a GPS that decides which route the unit should choose to get from point A to point B. Many people falsely assume that simply having the same maps on two GPS devices will result in the same routing choices. Not so, as there is a great deal of math and decision-making involved when calculating the "best" route.

Not surprisingly, this also one of the most difficult and complex aspects for GPS manufacturers to get right, and is the aspect of GPS navigation that is least well understood by consumers.

There is a lot more to a routing engine than just the mapping data provider. How a given GPS will determine the "best" route is the result of not only the mapping data, but also how many additional data points, or attributes, are factored into the equation.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Can lane assist and junction view, be used in Mexico? No Only available in select metropolitan areas, lane assist with junction view guides you to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit, making unfamiliar intersections and exits easy to navigate. It realistically displays road signs and junctions on your route along with arrows that indicate the proper lane for navigation.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

For example, with the Garmin Communicator Plugin you can add the maps you purchase at Garmin.com to your device. Or, you can upload your training data from your Garmin fitness device to Garmin Connect™.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

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Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

I recently bought a Garmin 2460 LMT with lifetime traffic and maps, including México and voice commands. I am very disappointed, it is a piece of junk.

There are several problems with the Garmin. I. the speaking voice cannot come close to pronouncing Spanish names. For instance, she calls a Calle a kal. She pronounces avenida as ava-na- dida, and Coligio militar as kolig-iyo, milinar, like a ladies hat shop. 2. You can drive for many miles here in Cuernavaca and never see a street sign, to know where you are at, and the maps on the Garmin display generally have no street names. I am tired of trying to figure out where Gobbledygook kal is.

I just learned today, while reading the online users manual, that tapping on the little car image on my Garmin display will tell me where I am. I haven’t tried it yet, but maybe it will be useful. I wanted to avoid the distraction of fooling with the Garmin display on my dash while driving in this heavy traffic here, that is why I paid for a GPS with voice commands. I think it is almost a necessity to have a front seat passenger to tend to the Garmin, and to tell the driver where and when to turn.

I am greatly disappointed with the Garmin. I thought that buying a model with voice commands would be very good, it isn’t. Only businesses that have paid Garmin an advertising fee are available. Garmin acknowledges that in their online manual, and they say it is a small problem. It is actually a huge problem. I cannot find one of the nicest Chinese restaurants again, where we have dined a couple of times. They do list 15 or 20 other Chinese restaurants. I don’t want to drive 15 or 20 miles to eat at an unknown place though. I also cannot find a Coppel department store that I want to try. They have two or three branches here, and I can’t find a single one of them.

I can stop and type the name and address including the Colonia, for a business on the tiny keyboard, if I know it, but it always shows me 15 or 20 identical addresses for the same business. If I tap on one of them, it always wants to take me 20 miles away, when I know I am within a mile or two of the business. I am beginning to think the Garmin was just another expensive mistake. I am toying with the idea of calling Garmin to find out if I can change the spoken language from English to Spanish. My unit has lifetime map and traffic updates, so maybe it is possible.

I do know enough Spanish to know the words izquierda, derecho, and adelante, or derecha, so following directions spoken in Spanish, if intelligible, should be no problem. The key will be finding, and hearing or reading understandable words.

It might work OK in a larger well mapped city like México, but here in a medium sized city with virtually no street name signs, it is hopeless so far.

Rex"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Re: [Papirex] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Like any other new piece of technology, there is a learning curve to using the Garmin in Mexico. I will grant you that it is far from perfect in Mexico but it hardly perfect NOB either. On our part having used a Garmin for the last three years during our Mexico travels, we haven't been disappointed but we had our expectations toned down too.

Since one of your irritants seems to be the pronunciations, you might change voices. On our unit, I found "Carlos"quite good with his pronunciations. Regards, Neil Albuquerque, NM

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

The NAVTEQ site does not work, it is completely mas-functional. We live on Calle Dos, it is in the north of the city, all of it is in one colonia. There is another Calle named Calle 2 here. It starts in the north of the city, it is not continuous, It goes through The city into the city of Temixco in the south, it passes through several different colonias.

When I enter my address as a starting point, it shows our house as being on Calle 2 , which they have renamed Calle Dos. I suspect that they only list businesses that have paid them a fee, the same as Garmin does, They even tried to steer me to restaurants in Tepoztlan, which is not a part of Cuernavaca. They have no name listings for restaurants.

The Post Office will never rename a street here, and the house addresses are numbered as the houses are built. We have odd and even numbers on both sides of our street. Our house is number 5, houses numbered 6 are on both sides of us. I frequently get mail addressed to number 6. I need to look at the name on the envelope to know which house to take it to.

The last option for me to try is the BICI maps program, at least it is a Mexican created program, and maybe it will be more accurate to navigate in small. Or medium sized cities here. If that doesn't help, the trash can is my next option.

I went online today, my map is up to date with a 2012.30 map. I also downloaded one software update. I was a little concerned about whether it downloaded correctly, as my Garmin was connected to my laptop downstairs, and it could not acquire a satellite signal. If acquiring satellite signal is critical, and I don't know if it is, I will try connecting to my desktop upstairs, or I will take a folding table and chair into the front patio to get any more updates using my laptop. My car is parked there, and it does get satellite signals there.

When I took it outside to connect it in my car, it showed that the map and software was up to date though. If it is anywhere near accurate for México (City) I can drive to the BICI office there and buy their maps on a memory card. I only paid $190 US Bucks for the latest Garmin, so I might as well gamble another $40 Bucks for the BICI maps. If that doesn't work, I will take a hammer to it and put this pile of crap in the garbage where it belongs.

Many of the solutions offered to me were evidently for older models of Garmins, and they will not work in the newer models like I bought. The only language choice I have is for spoken Spanish, no choice of speakers. I have enabled it, I don't know yet if it will be an improvement, but I can understand correctly spoken Spanish a lot better than the garbled mumblings of an English speaker that is trying to speak very fractured Spanish. It did not come with a printed user's manual. Only an online manual is available, it is very time consuming to use it.

I would buy and pay for a printed manual if one was available. Maybe that piece of junk would be usable then. I gave up on the printed Guia Roji maps years ago, too many, many errors and omissions on them for city travel.

Garmin appears to have tried to save money in the wrong place, making their units almost unusable for most users. In my former life, I was an electronic instrument technician. I can always make something work, if it is not faulty.

Rex "The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

BiciMapas are my preferred maps for those living and working in Mexico. I have for many years used these maps on a 2001 Garmin streetpilot III, for those that need to search for hard to find places in Mexico, these maps are made for you.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Could installing an additional maps files in Garmin GPS unit cause a problem? YES The problem can be solved easily, by uncheck the unused map files, or by removing the older map files from the GPS unit.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

I want to get a Mexico map for my Garmin 760 GPS. Which is better, the Garmin City Navigator, or the BiciMapas GPS Atlas 2012? I am leaning toward the BiciMapas product, but since they both came out with recent upgrades, I am wondering if Garmin has finally caught up to Bici in the completeness of the product. Most on-line comparisons are for older versions of both products. We will be traveling from Guadalajara to Guanajuato and then around Guanajuato. Good POI's would be useful. I use a Mac computer and I know GPS Atlas will only work with a PC, but Mexico Maps online will transfer the GPS Atlas to an SD card for a specific GPS unit for $15....any experience with this?

This map update only can be used to update the preloaded maps that came installed on your Garmin device.¹ For example, a device preloaded with North America maps cannot be updated with nüMaps Lifetime Europe, and vice versa.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Can I use TomTom map zones on Mexico map? NO This is not yet available for Canada, USA, and Mexico.

Map Zones The size of our maps increases all the time as we add detail, such as new roads. We add more detail to make the maps more accurate and more useful.

You may find that when you buy a new map or update an existing map, the map you have chosen does not fit on your navigation device. To solve this, HOME can offer you smaller sections of some maps, called map zones. A map zone contains the same level of details as a complete map.

Re: [caddesign] Tips & Tricks for using Garmin & TomTom GPS in Mexico

Misleading satnavs (GPS) have caused more than £200 million worth of damage to cars in the past 12 months, it was revealed today.

As many as 83% of satnav users have been misled by their system, a survey by Confused.com found. Accidents caused by drivers going the wrong way have led to damage totalling £203 million in the past year, the poll also showed. Of those led astray, 52% ended up screaming at their devices, while 68% have ended up doing longer journeys and clocking up unnecessary miles.